What is a new type of eco-friendly foam composite pallet? What pallet inspections are typically conducted?

A pallet is the load-bearing device used for consolidating, stacking, and transporting goods, making it easy to handle, move individual items, and manage small quantities of materials. Pallets play a crucial role in protecting products and facilitating efficient storage and transportation. In fact, pallets have become an indispensable tool in the evolution of modern logistics—and as pallet inspection capabilities continue to improve, their performance is steadily enhancing as well.

Originally, pallets were mostly made from wood as the primary material. However, due to dwindling wood resources, stringent international trade regulations targeting wooden pallets, and the accelerated development of pallet standardization and pallet-sharing systems, plastic pallets have begun to be widely adopted. Meanwhile, different domestic companies have varying preferences and performance requirements when it comes to selecting pallets. Currently, the new type of foam-composite pallet has gained widespread popularity.

The new type of foam composite pallet is made by thermoforming EPS (polystyrene) together with plastic ABS. Its key materials include glass microspheres derived from fly ash produced in thermal power plants, along with recycled plastics and a small amount of additives—all processed under high pressure and temperature. This innovative material combines the flexibility of plastic with the rigidity of glass microspheres, effectively turning waste into valuable resources. It’s a versatile, high-performance composite with wide-ranging applications, making it an exceptionally useful and sustainable innovation.

Based on the pallet testing data, the new type of foam-composite pallet offers several advantages: it’s waterproof, moisture-resistant, and corrosion-proof; it’s lightweight, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective. Additionally, it’s easy to produce and install, can be reused multiple times, provides excellent cushioning performance, and its raw materials are recyclable. It also qualifies for export without the need for fumigation, making it ideal for modern logistics and express delivery applications—perfectly suited as a replacement for wooden pallets or even paper pallets, which often have inferior water resistance. At the same time, this innovative pallet can also be used in scenarios where conventional plastic pallets are typically employed. However, its drawbacks include difficulty in restoring its shape after deformation and relatively limited load-bearing capacity.

According to the pallet inspection standards specified in ISO 8611.2—2011, determining the rated load capacity of a pallet requires conducting different test procedures tailored to its intended use. Considering that the pallet will be used for both racking access and stacking applications, eight specific tests are outlined in Table 1: Test 1a measures bending strength, while Test 1b evaluates bending stiffness; Test 2a assesses fork lift strength, and Test 2b checks fork lift stiffness. Additionally, Tests 3a and 3b evaluate the compressive strength and compressive stiffness of pallet blocks or longitudinal beams, respectively, while Tests 4a and 4b focus on stacking strength and stacking stiffness. Therefore, the new foam-composite pallet must also undergo these same comprehensive pallet inspection tests.

The pallet testing experiments conducted on the new type of foam composite pallet are divided into a rated load test and a durability test. Due to the pallet's unique structure, the rated load test includes bending tests, forklift tests, longitudinal beam compression tests, and stacking tests; while the durability test involves corner drop tests and static friction coefficient tests. Additionally, to evaluate the pallet's ability to withstand dynamic loads in real-world applications, dynamic load testing is typically performed as well.

The test data for the new foam composite pallets across various experiments demonstrated excellent mechanical performance, with the pallets also exhibiting remarkably stable behavior. Within their rated load capacity, these pallets can be reused multiple times without compromising their integrity.

The new foam composite pallet features a static friction coefficient between its top surface and forklift forks that matches the level of conventional wooden pallets, demonstrating excellent safety performance. Dynamic load tests conducted on the new foam composite pallet confirm that this type of pallet meets the rigorous transportation demands encountered in real-world logistics scenarios. As a result, these pallets are ideally suited for lightweight cargo handling and storage in industries where food safety is critical—such as pharmaceuticals, the food industry, and cold-chain logistics.

In summary, since this new composite material is made from waste materials, it not only benefits the environment but also helps conserve natural resources. In particular, using it to manufacture maritime packaging, storage solutions, and pallets—replacing traditional wooden ones—has addressed the limitations of wood-based export packaging while simultaneously providing an eco-friendly, wood-saving, cost-effective, and pollution-free alternative. As a result, it is poised to deliver significant economic, social, and environmental benefits.